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So he needed to go take care of some personal business. Before he did, he thought that if the phone rang, he wouldn't be able to answer it properly. And answering a call while taking care of business was just awkward.
So he simply asked his friend to take the call for him. If it was urgent, she should tell him right away; if not, she could wait until he was finished.
Ten minutes later, as Mawei comfortably walked out of the restroom, the young Victoria's Secret model who took the call gave him the message. "Mawei, your friend from Saudi Arabia, a Mr. Mutey ibn, called looking for you. He asked you to call him back."
"Mutey ibn!?" Before Mawei could even answer, two other models who were having breakfast suddenly looked shocked when they heard the name.
"Wait? Did you just say Mutey ibn? The prince of Saudi Arabia?"
"Oh my gosh, he's the one who called?" The two models who knew the name asked in astonishment. They couldn't believe that a random call for Mawei was from a Saudi prince. The kind of status that implied was simply shocking.
The commotion about the Saudi prince continued to build at the breakfast table. Other models who hadn't known joined the enthusiastic discussion. They say three women are a whole show; with 16 women, it was more like a massive "chatastrophe."
"Alright, give me the phone." While women could be great company, sometimes they were really just a pain. Especially with 16 of them in one room. It was a constant reminder to Mawei that he should never marry so many wives, or his life would be a daily torture that no one else could understand.
Mawei said this while beckoning to the nearest model to hand him the satellite phone from the coffee table. He thought to himself, "It's just a call from a Saudi prince. Why are they making such a big deal about it? It's just a normal thing."
After getting the phone, Mawei called the number back. He immediately noticed that the lively conversation at the breakfast table became much quieter. Of course, some of the models chose to be quiet so they wouldn't interrupt his call. But another reason was probably that they wanted to see what it was like to talk to a prince from a "rich nation."
Sensing their subtle curiosity, Mawei immediately went into the bedroom, closed the door, and started talking business with the Saudi prince. He wasn't going to lose his composure just to show off or act cool in front of a bunch of women.
"Hello, Your Highness. I'm sorry, were you looking for me earlier? I was busy with something," Mawei said apologetically on the phone. He had already guessed what Saudi Arabia wanted to talk to him about. It was obviously about the Whirlwind self-propelled rocket launchers.
"Haha! Mawei, my good brother! It's been a long time, hasn't it? How have you been? I heard you were in Dubai for the international auto show a while ago. I've ordered several of the new Bugatti Veyrons from your company. When are you coming to Saudi Arabia to visit? I'll show you a good time!" The Saudi prince's opening was still very friendly.
However, he was in a difficult position. They didn't want Russia to sell the Whirlwind rocket launchers to Israel, which would hurt Russia's business. As for what price Saudi Arabia would have to pay in the end, that was up for negotiation. The Saudi king was directly negotiating with the Russian government, while the prince's job was to build relationships with important Russian figures.
"A visit to Saudi Arabia? I'm afraid I won't have time recently, Your Highness. As I'm sure you know, Israel has already placed an order with us for 100 ultra-long-range self-propelled rocket launchers," Mawei said calmly on the phone.
When smart people communicate, there's no need for a lot of beating around the bush. A simple hint is enough for both sides to understand.
"Alright, Mawei. To be honest, I'm calling about the matter with Israel. You know that since its founding, their country has had a lot of conflicts with Saudi Arabia and the entire Arab League. If you can, do you think you could find a way to help us reject that order? As for compensation, anything is negotiable."
The Saudi prince was getting straight to the point with Mawei. He knew the Russian government would most likely just take the money and not care about Saudi Arabia's feelings. If there was any chance of a change, it would have to come from Mawei.
"Compensation won't be necessary, because the two parties have more or less reached an agreement on this order. If you had called me a little earlier, perhaps I could have found a way to stop it." Mawei said, making it clear there wasn't much he could do.
What he said was the truth. In business and in other matters, there's a principle of "first come, first served." The Israeli Ministry of Defense placed their order for the rocket launchers first, and Mawei personally approved it. If he went back on his word and refused to sell them now, he would be considered untrustworthy. It wasn't about the money. This was a done deal, and even if he tried to interfere, it would be extremely difficult. On top of that, it would damage his good relationship with the Russian government, which wouldn't be worth it.
When the Saudi prince heard that Mawei couldn't cancel the order, he immediately became anxious. "Then... what should we do? If Israel gets those 100 Whirlwind rocket launchers, it will be a huge threat to Saudi Arabia! Mawei, is there any way you can help us? I represent the Saudi royal family when I say we will never forget this favor!"
The prince didn't blame Mawei for not helping. He knew where Mawei stood and that he was on Russia's side. Plus, it was his own fault for not calling sooner. If he had called just a few days earlier, the outcome might have been different.
Seeing that the Saudi prince didn't direct his anger at him, Mawei thought he was a good person. At least he was calm enough to know who to seek help from in a crisis instead of throwing a tantrum and shifting the blame. This showed his maturity and wisdom.
"There might be a way, but it wouldn't be to block the order. It would be..." Mawei could tell that the Saudi prince was a promising person who would likely inherit the throne one day. So, helping him before he became king and building a good relationship would be a good investment.